February- Love

Of course, February is the month for showing you care about someone-whether it's a lover, a spouse, a relative, or a teacher.  February's psychology fact is that, according to Robert Sternberg, the most lasting kind of love is "consummate," a blend of intimacy, passion, and commitment. Put all three ingredients together, and you should have a long and happy love life.

March-  Spring is Coming

By March, at least in the colder climates in the Northern Hemisphere, we're all in the mood to "think spring." However, even if winter stretches through to the end of this transitional month, there's no reason to let the weather affect your mood. Klimstra and his colleagues found that weather has virtually no overall effect on mood compared to individual differences in personality. Don't give into the weather and you'll make it through even the snowiest spring.

 April- Tax Time

In the U.S., April carries with it what for many is the dread of dealing with the I.R.S.  How can you ease the pain, especially if the result is that you won't benefit from a refund?  In an eight-country study (not including the U.S. or Canada), Muehlbacher and colleagues found that people were more willing to report their incomes honestly if they felt they had worked hard to earn their paychecks. The researchers concluded that people who worked hard for their money were less willing to risk losing it to the auditor. To ease tax burden pain, then, remember that your taxes reflect your earning success. On the other hand, if you're getting a refund-- enjoy!

May- Mother's Day

Families welcome and cherish motherhood, but becoming a mother can carry with it stress. For many years, researchers tried to explain the dip in marital satisfaction that many new mothers experience. Now, as reported by Dew and Wilcox, new mothers can be happier in their relationships if they can spend more quality time with their partners. Just as important, though, is the mother's perception that her partner is pitching in to help with household tasks. By easing the transition to motherhood, new families can build the solid foundation they'll need to get them through the rest of the child-rearing years, and beyond.

June- The Marriage Month

According to the CDC, which tracks marriage statistics, June is the most popular month for people to tie the knot.  Psychology offers many suggestions to help the newly married forge a successful life together. As I mentioned in a previous blog posting, the divorce rate isn't truly as high as most people think when you take into account such factors as age of marriage and -once again- gender role equality.  Research by Anderson and colleagues, who followed 700 couples over 17 years found that most remained happy, and even those who suffered problems eventually recovered.  The researchers concluded the best days are NOT behind for most married couples after the first few years.

July- Celebrate the Fourth

July begins with in the U.S. with a long weekend devoted to celebrating the nation's independence, for many people, with parades, flag-waving, fireworks, picnics, barbecues, and family get-togethers. The theme of patriotism that pervades these celebrations can boost an individual's sense of national identity.  Though boosting our national identity can bolster our overall sense of self, it can have negative consequences. Research conducted by Stavarnides and Georgiou on Greek-Cypriot children found that those with higher national identity were also more likely to have negative biases against people they see as "enemies."  We need to be aware of the dangers of patriotism if we want to build tolerance not only in children, but adults.

August- Vacation Time

Throughout the northern hemisphere, August is the month that most people plan their getaways. As I reported in two of my previous postings, whether it's getting away or having a staycation, everyone needs a break.  Surprisingly enough, just planning for a vacation can boost your happiness.  Nawijn and colleagues found a pre-vacation boost in happiness among Dutch vacationers.  They explained this finding in part due to the phenomenon of social comparison. Just feeling that you're going to take a vacation can make you feel happier because you know other people aren't going to have this benefit.   The moral of the story is that you should enjoy as much as possible the planning phase of your vacation because it will boost your satisfaction as much as the actual vacation.

September- Back to School and Work

Even if you have a 12-month job, you may experience the "new school year effect" if you have children whose year begins right before or after Labor Day. Even if you don't have children, you may still have patterned into your yearly calendar a sense of a new beginning after your August vacation time is over.  However,  you need to be on guard against the post-vacation blues. Another group of Dutch researchers, de Bloom and colleagues, found that, unfortunately, the effects of a vacation don't persist beyond a few weeks after people return to work.  They suggest that thinking back on a positive vacation experience after you return home can boost your happiness by negating the post-vacation blues.

October- Halloween

As with planning your summer vacation, the fun of preparing for Halloween often exceeds the joys of the actual holiday itself. What fantasy figure will you, or your children, represent? How can you express your real self or perhaps the opposite of your real self in one great disguise? Nelson's research suggests that we tend to limit our choice of costumes to those that express traditional gender roles. Instead of following those restrictions, use the opportunity to break out of your normative shell. As psychoanalyst Carl Jung might say, use the mask to reveal your inner persona. For more hints on using psychology to find the perfect costume, check out this orevious posting.

November- Time to Give Thanks

Thanksgiving's theme of gratitude starts to set in at about the middle of November. Of course, so does holiday shopping! However, focusing on Thanksgiving as a time to give thanks- literally- is an important way to boost your happiness throughout the holiday period.  Emmons and his colleagues have established a solid body of evidence showing that the feeling of gratitude is strongly related to feelings of life satisfaction. I've discussed the details of this research in a previous blog posting if you'd like to read more about it. The bottom line is that focusing on what really matters about thanksgiving will pump up your morale throughout the month and beyond.

December- Celebrate the Holidays